


The Thief's Nothing

by TheCarrot



Category: The Librarians (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Anger, DARPA, Ezekiel Jones Remembers, Flashback to Jenkins Death, Flashbacks, Gen, Nicole's World, Panic, Time Loop, everything, ezekiel has ptsd
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-18
Packaged: 2019-10-06 23:54:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,878
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheCarrot/pseuds/TheCarrot
Summary: Ezekiel is pretty damn sure he’s hit his limit for temporal anomalies. Hundreds upon hundreds of days stuck in a grey facility already more than he could stand; and now, adventures, life and deaths that he never wanted to experience scrubbed away, all burnt to a crisp by a hundred year old toaster.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Had this sitting on the computer for a while... I still have more to come too. Many thanks to my wonderful friend and amazing Guardian Editor @0hheytherebigbadwolf !

The memories are like a film on the back of his brain. 

Grainy images and sepia washed negatives overlapping one another.

They taste like ash in the back of his mouth and burn like smoke in his lungs.

Suffocating him and overwhelming every other sensation he’s ever felt.

Their words in his head are cold and numbing, washed away in the strands of time and swept clean from the intricate weavings of the Loom of Fate as he lands back inside his own body. Back inside the Library, back at the start. He doesn’t remember everything yet, but some bits and pieces surge forward in powerful waves that he can’t ignore… can’t not remember.

How many times can they hurt Time like this, Ezekiel wonders, before the fabric of the future becomes irreparable. 

How many times do they have to suffer only to have it wiped away and mean nothing. 

No more he hopes.

Please no more.

Ezekiel is pretty damn sure he’s hit his limit for temporal anomalies. Hundreds upon hundreds of days stuck in a grey facility already more than he could stand; and now, adventures, life and deaths that he never wanted to experience scrubbed away, all burnt to a crisp by a hundred year old toaster. 

He does his best to grit his teeth and not run away as Jenkins speaks to the over excited Eve and Flynn. The thief clothes the book in his hand as tight as possible as Jenkins begins the tethering incantation and somehow... somehow he manages to make his way through the rest of the ceremony even if Ezekiel keeps his eyes glued to the spot on Jenkins chest where the blade had cut through. 

And it’s that. 

That one image, more than any other memory that stands at the forefront of his mind. 

How they had wrapped him up in that cloth and watched as he lay dying on that table.

Jenkins dying is a vividly clear image in Ezekiel’s mind as even more and more memories settle inside of him. Flynn disappearing- no being kidnapped… the horrible visions from the nightmare rings, trying to pry the metal vest away from their caretakers body… theres no end to it all…

It takes him several deep breaths to keep the panic that’s crawling up his spine from spilling out, but Ezekiel somehow manages it. He’s seen his friends die countless time in that lab, but somehow seeing the caretaker die once, is where he hits his limit. He knows that it’s because he was so sure Jenkin’s death had been permanent then. 

No loop to fix it.

_“I HATE IT! I HATE IT!”_

He want’s to run as Cassandra’s screams echo around his skull. 

Ezekiel wants to rage and rail against the Library. They had put all of their faith and loyalty into this place and it had turned around and given them heartbreak and destruction in return. 

_“I was built to protect my artifacts.”_

_“What about your Librarians?”_

_“...They are not artifacts.”_

Visions swim in front of his eyes, of the lions behind him moving, of two ghostly brothers, of the bank under Switzerland. He can remember the Trial of the One and and Jacob in the Enchanted Forest; there’s Lady Luck and Darrington and Cassandra leaving. It all jumbles up inside of his head, months upon months worth of memories all vying for a place in the front of his mind and Ezekiel cringes at the tension headache that starts forming behind his eyes. 

A fire is building across his nerves and it’s impossible for Ezekiel to stop. Breathless anger simmers below the surface of his skin and the thief doesn’t know what to do with it. The thief... the thief...

_“You’re a thief!”_

_“Wait, that’s it?”_

He could still feel hurt as a thief right? His heart clenches at Baird’s statement from the other place and Ezekiel can do nothing to stem the tide of words that dig their way into his very core and **hurt.**

Hell, he used to love being **the** thief. A Librarian and a Thief.

But then it had taken Jenkins…

_“You all must know. Serving you has been the greatest pleasure of my life.”_

They’re words he can barely remember… shouldn’t remember, but they hurt every inch of his being.

_“Maybe you're right. Maybe I don't know what real life is.”_

The library had gone too far. It’s all gone so far awry. 

__“It’s not you’re fault he left— that Flynn left. You’ve done nothing wrong.”_ _

However they don’t hurt as much as listening to Baird and Flynn agree here and now to the immortal life along side the library as they stand before Jacob, Cassandra and himself. 

After everything the library has done to them. 

_After Everything…._

Ezekiel’s stomach turns. He’s not sure if he can ever bring himself to trust anything here again. 

**That hurts.**

He thought he had finally found a home. Had found people he trusted and loved, beyond himself. He had found his calling. 

Ezekiel doesn’t think he has ever been more wrong. 

He feels like he understands Noone’s anger. 

He loved the library. 

_“Ezekiel, there is a life that is better than this.”_

No Eve, he had thought, there isn’t. It’s too late for better. Too late for them, too late for the Library. 

Now Ezekiel’s sure there is never going to be such thing as a good life for him. Not in any universe. 

_\--_

The moment Baird and Flynn finish the recitations Jenkins claps his hands together in triumph. The caretaker looks happier then Ezekiel has seen him be lately… lately, in this timeline lately… Other timeline Jenkins is pale, drawn, desperate…dying…dead… 

Suddenly everywhere around them, the Library seems to glow with a warmth; with a new softness and comfort now permeating the air and Ezekiel feels like it’s choking him. 

It’s suffocating. 

After all that bleakness he had felt but can barely piece together, it’s too much softness. 

Visions of brown-grey monotony and dead laughter dance behind Ezekiel’s eyelids as he watches Eve and Flynn start to lead the other Cassandra and Jacob away. Most of the memories are going too fast for him to get a solid grip on, but Ezekiel knows this feeling. It’s the same way he had been after DARPA, after the three weeks in Ariels dream world… the familiar flood of memories coming back to him so quickly and so slowly at the same time. Things he experienced once but now never did. Only this time it’s not just the memories of the past time line where the Library fell. It’s the entire life he lived in this world, overlapping with growing up in the world with no magic. 

The anger burns brightly in his chest and Ezekiel makes the fastest getaway he’s made since Interpol was on him in Berlin. With a semi-believable, albeit lame excuse of ‘Look, I like you all and everything, but I am not sticking around for the gooey-goggly eyes you lot are going to make at each other.’ Ezekiel beats a hasty retreat to the front door of the Annex, the sound of Eve and Cassandra’s amused laughter following behind him. 

He vaguely hears Stone opening up the Back Door as he disappears down the hallway. 

Ezekiel makes it home in record time, even if he doesn’t remember all of the trip. The door to his apartment slams shut and he slides the deadbolt into place with such a harsh movement it leaves his palm stinging. The pain grounds him for a minute as Ezekiel slides down his door to curl up on the floor, his head buried in his knees as the panic takes over. 

He doesn’t even try to stop it. 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Because for all that Ezekiel is mad at the Library... he is just as mad at his friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Theres More!! This may get a little dark in some places in the next chapter or so, but I swear the ending should be a lot happier.

Ezekiel stands in front of his fogged up bathroom mirror and just tries to breathe. He’s got himself wrapped up in several of his largest, fluffiest towels; one around his waist, another around his shoulders and the third he has draped completely over his head. He doesn’t think he can stand to look at his own reflection in the mirror at the moment.The thief had long ago lost track of how long he had stood under the hot spray of his shower head, but for all he’s tried to hold back the flood of memories, they pour forth with his tears and his panic until Ezekiel falls to his knees on the bathroom floor.

Now, he let’s the towel slip off his head as it pools around him but the thief finds himself no closer to the mental calmness he had sought after leaving the Annex. Ezekiel’s only saving grace is that he’s managed to parse out most of the memories from his life in the sepia universe and the several months in this last reality before it all changed. 

Only, now that he has had time to think about it, Ezekiel only feels more exhausted.

The anger hasn’t gone away. 

It’s settled inside of him like burning coals in a fire the more he remembers.

Because for all that Ezekiel is mad at the Library... he is just as mad at his friends. 

Well, he doesn’t think he’s too mad at Jenkins despite the fact that the man had the nerve to go die on them but that was only because he was suckered into giving up his immortality so well- yeah... maybe he is a little pissed off at him too. 

He’s mad at Cassandra because she drugged him. At that camp surrounded by a dense killer forrest and complete strangers, she used the trust he had in her and let him take the tea she handed him without a second thought. She wanted it to be a harmless prank but Ezekiel can feel all of his instincts flare up in defensiveness now. He knows without a doubt that if she ever brings him another drink it will remain untouched. He’s mad at her too for changing her mind about there being only one Librarian after Fugue...well, more disappointed really. He always figured she would be the one to go down screaming about how they should work together.

Then, Stone left. When Jenkins lay dead on the table and Cassandra had collapsed to the floor; it was Jake who ran, not Ezekiel and the thief didn’t know it was possible to be so angry and disappointed at the same time. Jacob hadn’t thought about the others, the historian let his own guilt override everything and just left Eve holding onto the wailing red head. He left it up to Ezekiel to cover their caretakers body as the older man disappeared without a backward glance. He’s also annoyed that Stone jeopardized the safety of the Library with that stunt he pulled with the journalist and Ezekiel marvels at an IQ of 190 being reduced to zero in the face of a pretty set of knickers. 

Ezekiel felt the way his chest hurt when Eve looked him dead in the eye, starting and stopping her sentence with “You’re a thief.” He knows what he is, what he was, Ezekiel knows what his world made him become and what this crazy ass universe did to him. Ezekiel had just hoped that maybe the Colonel had changed her mind and saw beyond just his outer facade. The thing is, he likes who he is now, Ezekiel loved being a thief, loved the art and jewelry and being the best at it was one of the best feelings. But he also loves the library, everything in it and saving the world every week, twice before Friday… Eve was right when she said he knew the artefacts better then anyone. Ezekiel just didn’t think that’s all he was. 

He’s pissed that Eve and Flynn... no he supposes, it’ll just be Baird and Carsen from now on. He’s speechless that they can pretend nothing happened. How could they have just smiled away everything? 

Ironically, he’s livid that he’s the only one angry.

Annoyed that apparently he’s the only one who cares enough to be angry. 

Ezekiel had never put much stalk in Flynn Carsen, as a librarian or as a human being. He’s met too many people like him, absent minded and unaware of the people he hurts. So he’s not going to act surprised when it turns out ignoring Flynn is easier than normal. Seeing as the Aussie has never gone out of his way to seek out the older man before it’s unsurprising that Ezekiel isn’t planning to start now. 

The others might be a little bit harder but Ezekiel knows he’s going to need his space for however long it takes to get through the nightmare in his head. 

At least last time he had Ariels world and Prospero to fight as a distraction.

—

It takes Ezekiel a full week before his insides to start to crawl. 

A week of almost complete avoidance of everyone he has come to love over the last four years. All around him, Ezekiel can feel the Library waver every time he enters it, it’s worry echoing around the book shelves until it is a physical sensation creeping along his nerves. It cuts through the warmth that’s started to settle into the old magical space from the tethering and Ezekiel wonders if the Library can feel how hurt he is. He wonders if it cares.

It’s been seven days of getting his memories into order, of trying to work through the suffocating feeling every time he thought of anything to do with That Universe when suddenly Ezekiel has an epiphany as he pours tea for himself and Jenkins. 

It’s such a simple thought, a simple action of passing the blame, bu he feels better for it. And stupider for not thinking of it earlier.

Because as mad as he is at the others; it’s nothing compared to the serpent of anger slithering through his body when he thinks about Nicole Noone. Tea splashes out over the rim of the procelin cup as Ezekiel sets it heavily back onto the counter so he he can hold himself up after the sudden weight sliding off of his chest. 

**It was all her fault.**

Her voice echoes in his head and Ezekiel grimaces at the flash of memory, hand clutching the counter almost to the point of breaking it, either his hand or the formica, as he collapses onto a stool. 

_“That’s not something you should remember…” she had cooed followed by a wicked smirk, “Wipe his memory once more, he’s like Flynn… he just needs a little extra rehabilitation.”_

Ezekiel has to focus on the heat from the tea pot burning into his other hand as he clutches the ceramic to keep the well of anger and disgust inside of him from over flowing. The shift of such a heavy emotion is enough to leave him reeling as the sickening anger that had been enough to keep him sane through the panic attacks and nightmares of grey for the last week, settles into a different part of him. 

Ezekiel isn’t sure what’s going to happen if he ever sees Nicole again. He just knows it isn’t going to be pretty. 

The same way it’s not going to be pretty if the others start noticing how high strung and on edge he is. So far they haven't cared and Ezekiel thinks he’s okay with that.

They don’t need to know how close to breaking the thief feels.

As carefully as he can Ezekiel stands up and when the kitchen doesn’t waver around him, he finishes the two teas as quickly as he can. He drops one off to a surprised looking Jenkins in his office before the Australian almost throws his own cup down on a random desk and disappears towards the library.

He’s alone in the Library at the moment, Baird and Carsen gone off somewhere while Cassandra and Stone deal with a floating tea kettle in Birmingham. Brown eyes close against the pounding headache he’s acquired sometime in the past few days, and Ezekiel steps into the main part of the Library and down the steps without looking up. He's so familiar with the terrain he doesn’t need his sight and Ezekiel lets his instincts and Ray guide him through the maze that is the haphazard shelving. Ezekiel almost wants to hate the Spirit of the Library too, but finds, as much as he wants to blame the building for everything that had happened in that other universe… he can’t. 

However while he may not blame the Library anymore, he doesn’t trust it either. 

The poor old building may have only been trying to stay alive, to stay where it wanted to be, only to be corrupted by Noone’s anger and magic, but it was still the spot where too much bad had happened. Ezekiel is no stranger to that kind of bad. He’d seen it happen time and time again, between other humans and magical items, all manner of things around the world torn apart by the fragility of human emotions.

By anger.

The same anger that was eating away at his own soul now.

Ezekiel isn’t a hundred percent sure what his next move is, but he’s got a plan slowly forming and it’s scary as all hell how good it feels to have something to focus on that isn’t his memories.

‘Yeah,’ he thinks to himself, at least he knows what his next move is.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pocket watch may no longer house a fae, but it’s got enough residual magic to guide him in the right direction.
> 
> After all, he needs to have a talk with a sorceress hiding in a different dimension.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can thank Vionger wine and a donair for this chapter...

_“You can’t kill an immortal...unless you turn them mortal.”_

Ezekiel grimaces as Noone’s words echo in his head as he makes his way through the Library shelves, eyes still closed. She had spoken them to Eve but it was him who had hesitated at the front door. It was he who turned back from the retreating forms of Jacob and Cassandra and it was he who went back to get Eve so he could drag her away with them. 

The world had fallen away before he had been able to do anything an Ezekiel grits his teeth at the thought of a pretty face and a pretty dress and such a tarnished soul.

She monologued.

Her words pierce like a knife into his stomach at how they had been played, and how Jenkins had paid the price for it. 

_‘If you’re asking me what happens after one passes away, please let me remind you I am the least qualified to answer that.’_

Brown eyes fall on the urn on the table and Ezekiel is a second away from rushing forward and grabbing a sword from the umbrella stand so he and Eve can take on Noone together, but the damage is done and the worlds falling apart around them. 

He doubt’s a sword would do much against an immortal anyways.

It’s only later, as a child and as a teenager in that grey, sepia world, that he wonders what could hurt one...

Then he remembers Koschei’s Needle, how Eve explained that it sucked all the immortalic life force out of Nicole and in every sense, killed her... Ezekiel’s wonders to himself in a prison of Nicoles making, that if the Needle is the only artefact that could do that. It’s risky, no doubt... and vaguely he asks himself if he could actually turn Nicole into a mortal and destroy her... was he that angry?

Yes, he thinks- no he knows he is. Ezekiel feels like one of the rage people from the video game with the urge to just rip something to shreds. The unbelievable amount of desire he has to rage and scream until things go back to whatever passed for normal to them is insurmountable.

He stops walking, opening his eyes as he comes to a halt in front of a certain shelf. Books are piled haphazardly every which way between two familiar artefacts. Ezekiel sighs heavily as he reaches out to press a hand to the glass cover holding a familiar blue stone. The Thermunite glows in response to his touch, just like it always does and the thief can’t help the soft smile he gives the chunk of rock. He thinks back and marvels at how one stupid piece of rock can effect him so badly. The Atlantis people had torn a hole in the fabric of time and space and destroyed themselves with too much knowledge that didn’t belong to them.

Ezekiel is beginning to know how they felt. He’s got knowledge and memories of things that have but have not happened; of artefacts they don’t have and plans they may or may not have to make this time around. 

He’s seen death and rebirth, immortals becoming human and a body held against its owners will only to destroy itself. His hand falls away from the stone and instead the Australian opened the small wooden chest that sits next to it. The golden pocket watch glows in the dim light of the library and all around him Ezekiel can feel the way Ray is vibrating with worry.

The pocket watch may no longer house a fae, but it’s got enough residual magic to guide him in the right direction.

After all, he needs to have a talk with a sorceress hiding in a different dimension.

Ezekiel takes a deep breath as he slips on the black jacket laying across a chair as he heads towards the back of the Library. Flynn may not have been back this far more than once, but Ezekiel’s made it a habit in his life to know every inch of every building he steps foot in. So it’s with confidence that he zips up his coat and flips up the collar and goes through the back back door that has a yellow frame. It shuts down and disappears behind him and he watches as the blue light starts glowing around his feet. Brown eyes sweep the ethereal forest around him and the thief smirks to himself as the ring of rocks he’s standing in shoots off in every direction. 

Good, he thinks to himself, because a doorway is a doorway after all. Even if it is to the Mirrorlands. There’s a buzz of energy all around him and Ezekiel takes one last deep breath before he heads off into the woods.

\--

It doesn’t take long for him to find Morgan Le Fay, or really it does’t take long for her to find him as they step into the same clearing in unison; his entrance into this world after all, was neither quiet nor discreet. 

“Oh, just the crazy witch I was looking for.”

“Well that’s not a very nice greeting.” 

“I need your help.” Ezekiel breezes past her pouting lip and wild eyes.

“And why should I help you?” She asks mockingly, reclining back against a wide tree trunk with a feline grace that belies the source of her magic. Her robes glow a dark purple in the strange light of the Mirrorlands around them and it makes Morgans face almost a slickly pale. He doubts it’s doing anything for the dark circles under his eyes either.

Ezekiel however, quirks an eyebrow at her and smirks, “Because I came to you.”

Red curls bounce in annoyance as she cocks her head and takes in the boy in front of her. “Yes. You did. How curious.”

“Now, you could only imagine how bad things are if I'm the one doing the seeking.” The thief’s smirk doesn’t fade, even when the sorceress pushes herself off the tree to stalk towards him. 

“I could just kill you now.” Her words echo with promise but Ezekiel doesn’t flinch back. He’s faced Noone in a bleak world with no hope and had his mind played with by her lackeys. He’s survived thousands of time loops and if Morgan thinks killing him is a way to scare him, she’s never been more wrong.

“I need a dagger.” Ezekiel states. “One that can kill immortals.”

Morgans lips pull back in a sneer as she circles around the boy. “For Galeas?” She can’t imagine the old fool being the boys target.

Brown eyes spark in the dim light and Morgan knows that while Galeas is part of it, he’s not the thief’s target... well, she’s had her interest peeked now. 

“Give me the dagger and I can keep the other Librarians off your trail for the rest of their lives.” Ezekiel bargains.

“No.” Morgan halts directly in front of him and a few months ago Ezekiel would have stepped back at being so close to such a dangerous woman. Now, he’s staring at the face of ageless magic and grinning because he’s just made her want something. “Tell me who.”

The cocky smirk that falls on his lips is as well worn and familiar as her own innocent routine. “A name for such a priceless dagger?”

Pearl white teeth flash in amusement. “Why not. I haven’t had any fun since I arrived here, and now that the battle of Great Evil is over, there isn’t much to do in the human world. I could use a little chaos.”

Pretending to mull it over Ezekiel thinks over all he knows of the sorceress. Morgan was powerful, true, but was she strong enough to fight against a Guardian of the Library like Nicole? Had she disappeared with the changing of the timeline? And if she hadn’t, what had Morgan Le Fay been doing in that other world? 

“Show me the knife first.” Ezekiel states, crossing his arms and standing up straighter. Around them the forrest seems to shiver and the trees rustle in wind that carries the scent of apples.

Morgan chuckles darkly as she slips a hand inside her robe and pulls out a small, slim kwaiken. 

The power coming off the dagger leaves Ezekiel breathless and for the first time since the defeat of Apep, he feels like he’s going to be the one holding all the cards.

“Nicole Noone.” Her name slips off his tongue like a secret whispered into the ear of a stranger.

“Really? How excellent.” The red head’s face splits into a manic grin that defy’s how large a human face should be able to stretch. “You know, you aren’t like other librarian’s.” 

“I’m a thief.” Ezekiel replies unfazed as she holds out the small Japanese knife towards him. He reaches out and wraps his fingers around the handle but the sorceress doesn’t let go when he tries to pull back. He looks up to meet her eyes and her smile this time is much less psychcotic then normal. It looks almost... calm. Sympathetic. 

“You are much more than a thief...”

No, he isn't, he thinks back; because the other world proved as much. Baird said as much. His heart clenches painfully inside his chest and Ezekiel has to push it down. Pushes it all down into that space inside of him where he’s shoved the time loops and so many of each of his lives. 

La Fey lets go of the blade and steps back. “Oh... I like you...”

Ezekiel scoffs at her and slips the blade into his sleeve as he rolls his eyes. “Sod off lady,”

However Morgan is already gone, and the thief looks around the clearing with a sudden realization. 

Morgan had wanted him to find her. She had been waiting for him. 

The thought of a trap crosses his mind but Ezekiel knows why Morgan says she doesn’t lie and that fact is a small comfort in the face of gaining her interest but he figures he’ll deal with that later. He’s got other preparations to set up and several artefacts to bring back to the library. Again.

He’s going to need them after all.

As Ezekiel walks back towards the circle of rocks he had come through the thief holds the pocket watch aloft once more, the face of it already glowing as it points sideways.

The knife is a comforting presence tucked against his arm.

—

Ezekiel feels the calmest he’s felt all month when he slips quietly back in through the Back Door, two days later after his departure in this world.

Eve and Flynn are hunched over her desk and they both look up at the door.

“Morning,” the thief greets as he strolls towards the stair case.

“Where were you?” Flynn raises an eyebrow as he gets to his feet.

“Out, had an errand.” Ezekiel replies casually, his calm broken by a prickle of annoyance at Flynn’s voice. He thinks he really needs to get a handle on this soon.

“What kind of errand?”

Huh, that’s Eves ‘I-don’t-quiet-believe-you’ voice.

Ezekiel leans over the banister and gives the Colonel the most cocky grin he can possibly muster. “You reallllly wanna know?”

Eves face does the exact (disgusted) twist Ezekiel expected it too and he gives a fake chuckle making his way up the last few stairs. 

Too easy.

Cold steel presses along his vein and Ezekiel feels his heartbeat echo along the folded metal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you squint you can almost see where this is going...


	4. Chapter 4

Ezekiel had always been sure the cat was going to come out of he bag; shredding claws, sharp and angry, hissing at having been held back for so long.

He had been positive that not telling the others about remembering the video game was going to the tipping point of his karmatic scale and that it would have been the final thing that was going to push him over, spilling all of his dirty laundry for everyone to see.

He had at least expected to have one of his panic attacks ruin a mission.

But Ezekiel just...got away with it.

After Flynn had saved them from Ariel’s dream world, (wherein Ezekiel doesn’t actually remember anything to do with the loop, thank god), the thief managed to keep his nightmares at bay by the sheer fact that he never slept until after Prospero was defeated. If he irked anyone by not showing up to the annex for a few days afterwards nobody had ever said anything to him.

One week after the video game Ezekiel is at three panic attacks in public and four more at home. 

Sorting through the loops had been just as gut wrenching as it was to live through them and bringing them all to the forefront of his brain had been the fodder of his nightmares for months. 

(Red Hair, Red Blood, Eve calls her Red. Red wire, blue wire, yellow wire, green. She dies first a lot.)

She taught him Math and Physics beyond anything he had ever learned from old stolen textbooks.

(Electrocuted. Hot. Bleed the pipe. Don’t bleed Stone. Excitement at actually being in a video game. One bullet of proof.)

He walked him through every way to put pipes together while reciting every poem Ezekiel’s never heard of. 

(What are you talking about? Same tone. Same face. Still thinks he’s crazy. Proud. Eve’s the Colonel on the hill telling people he’s brave. Not him)

She teaches him how to punch, kick, choke and kill. 

In a video game it hadn’t mattered what he did to his hands. 

He wasn’t a thief there, he was just a player. 

Ezekiel blinks his eyes open, staring at the now familiar sight of the sun just beginning to peek over the horizon. He had always been an early riser, eager to get out to the pockets of business men who were running late. However now, he’s lucky if he actually gets to sleep during the night. The darkness and shadows encasing his room make him feel like he’s back in that shaded world and Ezekiel can’t stand the hours he has to himself and his thoughts.

He slides a hand under his pillow and touches cold steel. It soothes him in a way it shouldn’t and Ezekiel finally crawls out of his bed.

The Annex is empty when he arrives, coffee in hand and phone in the other. The clipping book app is buzzing away as he creates a list of artefacts they need to re-aqquire. 

His nightmares and his memories, for now, are pushed to the back of his mind as he points himself towards a goal to focus on. The anger still sits low in his gut, warm, ready and waiting as it burns like an acid.

Baird and Carsen are the next ones to arrive and Ezekiel’s phone goes off the moment Stone and Cassandra rush in, all manner of excited and speaking excitedly about horses and casino’s and this friend and a race. Ezekiel gives a quiet huff of laughter as he checks his messages and watches their Guardian make a face, clearly remembering their last go round with the casino. 

The thief types back a quick reply and waits. Parker tends to get distracted easily, especially if you need something from her.

“You coming Jones?” Baird’s voice cuts through his thoughts and the thief looks up from his phone to see the older woman staring at him.

“To see large animals running around in a dusty old outcropping?” Ezekiel grimaces and gets a bit of enjoyment out of Stone’s offended face. “Pass.” He gets to his feet as Jenkins dials up the Backdoor and Ezekiel heads towards the front entrance. 

He’s got a date with a lion wielding blonde.

\--

“You got my money?”

Ezekiel draws his attention away from the crystal clear water looming out beyond the horizon of the bay. Oregon doesn’t have a lot fo bridges but the ones it does are tall enough to be quiet at the top. He digs into the deep pocket on the inside of his jacket and pulls out a large padded envelope, holding it out to the other thief who seemed to appear out of nowhere. 

“You look terrible.” Parker states in the blunt way she’s always had.

The Australian rolls his eyes and tosses the envelope across the space between them watching as Parker barely moves to catch it. “Thanks, nice to see you too.” Ezekiel smiles in a way that isn’t altogether fake. “Did you bring it?”

Parker reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a familiar circular necklace with the large Lion amulet attached to it and Ezekiel feels his heart catch in his throat. Without hesitation Parker tosses it to him and he lets the gold dig into the bare skin of his fingers as he catches it and holds on to it too tightly.

“You know I'm only agreeing to this because I owe you one right.” Parker frowns, clutching the money close to her. 

“I know.” 

“...why do you need it anyways?”

“Hm?”

“The cat.” She gestures to the Lion and tilts her head. “Why that piece. You’re all full of magic now, why do you need something lame like a necklace?”

Ezekiel just smiles at her and gives her a nod in thanks. “See you around Parker. Take care of yourself.” 

Parker doesn’t stop him as he takes hold of his rope and jumps off the side of the bridge, disappearing from her line of sight. The blonde frowns, peeling open the tab and peering inside to the sea of green notes. It’s more than she asked for and a feeling of unease settles over the thief. “Uh-oh.”

—

 

Every memory from Noone’s grey factory universe still reverberates inside his skull and it’s almost enough to make Ezekiel sick to his stomach if he stops long enough to think about it. He walks back to the Annex along the same streets he grew up on in a different world with a set different set of memories that got him into more trouble then his terrible attempts at stealing; Ezekiel merely has to close his eyes and he can remember… remember trying to locate the ones called Jacob Stone and Cassandra Cillian, getting caught by guards when he finally tracks down the other one, the older one, the original one... the one named Flynn Carsen after years and years of searching in that odd coloured universe. He remembers trying to get the older Librarian to remember him even as he’s being dragged away by the doctors under Nicoles control, knowing that without Eve there to jog his memory, it’s completely useless. 

Ezekiel can still remember every minute of Noone trying out her new machine on him, trying to get him to conform to this universe until he breaks down and tells her about the Atlantean Stone… about the Thermunite.

That he will always remember.

Always.

No matter what.

The thief will forever remember his old life and this one. This one and that one until they all blur together.

He will remember her deal too.

_“You try and tell them again. You try to find them and ruin any of this world I have worked so hard for… it will not be Flynn or you on this table. It will be that little girl and the cowboy.”_

Along with:

_“Just so I can keep an eye on you, lets put you somewhere noticeable.”_

Ezekiel flinches at the thought of how he was in the public eye and how he had to practice his lock picking so carefully. The laugh track to the fake audience has echoed in his head every night when he closes his eyes.

He remembers all of it.

Along with how happy he was to see Eve…until-

Ezekiel comes back to himself, looking up at the strange steel door that leads into the Annex and he has to press his hand to the cold sharp metal in order to gain his bearings. The Lion sits heavy around his neck and slowly the thief turns to look out over their version of a front lawn. The sound of cars on the bridge overhead echo across the space and the weird birds Ezekiel’s never paid much attention to before, flutter by with a song not found in this dimension. 

It’s a peaceful moment and Ezekiel soaks it in, the heat of the sun and the small breeze off of the sea calming his racing thoughts. He stays there for longer than he means too, watching pollen and gravel dust get picked up in the wind and carried away through the rays of the sun.

Slowly he lets himself inside and he creeps down the hallway and back into the abandoned Annex. If memory serves him correctly Eve, Cassandra and Stone should be hitting the casino floor about now and figuring out that their ‘luck’ has just been overrided by Fortuna. 

The poor kid, Ezekiel thinks of Fortuna offhandedly. He hopes one of them will bring back some of her jewels this time around but doubts it… maybe he’ll go find them afterwards, they could pay for so much.

—

Jenkins is not in the Annex when Ezekiel finally steps into the room, it’s empty save for piles and piles of books and a steaming tea cup that the thief leaves completely untouched. 

The door to the Library is open and quietly Ezekiel makes his way through them, bypassing all of the stacks and steps into the elevator. It’s only down two levels but the ride passes by several other universes and Ezekiel watches out the front door in mild amusement. The elevator creaks to a stop, the old metal clanging and screeching as the thief hauls the doors back open. Darkness is all encompassing down here and Ezekiel finds himself taking one last deep breath before he steps off the elevator and into the single row of glass encased artefacts. 

The Epic of Gilgamesh is only five pedestals away and Ezekiel can’t help but look at the worded pages with a sense of regret. He can sense the powerful magic coming off of the pages and all around him, the darkness seems to quiver as he lifts the protective glass case from around the centuries old book. 

It’s anger that burns though his chest in an overwhelming force but it’s the image of green ivy crawling up Jenkins arms as Stone reads, that propels him forward. Unclipping the Lion of Gilgamesh from around his neck, Ezekiel carefully flips open the pages of the Epic and sets the golden amulet down in the centre of it’s pages. 

An age old incantation comes to mind and Ezekiel finds himself reciting it before he can even remember the translation. 

_The power that flows through time_  
_Let it sink into gold_  
ageless   
Release what will not grow old  
Protect what I choose as mine 

Before him, Ezekiel watches dispassionately as the Lion of Gilgamesh slowly melts into the pages of it’s brother, the Epic, and within moments, the two artefacts erupt into a smokeless fire.

Centuries old writing in the Epic of Gilgamesh burn blue as they disappear into ash and Ezekiel can only hold his breath until finally both the book and the necklace remain nothing more than a memory on the pedestal. 

Ezekiel has no doubt that both Baird and Carsen felt the destruction of such an artefact and with that thought, he makes a hasty retreat for the upper levels. Shedding his sweater and throwing himself bonelessly into a chair with his phone raised high, un-pausing his new high score and letting the lame game sounds of Tetris overtake him just as Jenkins goes running past him. He pretends to hold an interest when not even two minutes later both newly tethered immortals race by after the Caretaker in a flurry of brown sport and grey trench coats. 

The thief doesn’t look up from his phone as both Cassandra and Stone follow their Guardians path and Ezekiel pretends to be confused as he throws out the query. “Have fun with the horses mate?”

Never again.

—

Ezekiel sits up in bed with a shout cut short on his lips, chest heaving and covered in sweat. He throws back the covers and practically scrambles for the kitchen, his normal tea long forgotten in place of the strong black coffee Eve once taught him how to make. 

The knife Le Fay gave him is like a constant in his hand, traveling from under his pillow and into the kitchen with him, to sit beside the kettle in wait as Ezekiel breathes in the dark roast aroma that permeates this version of his kitchen. All the work he did on it in the past time line is gone and the thief no longer feels like trying to redecorate. 

He’s got too much other work to do.

— 

The next few nights find Ezekiel, restlessly spread out in one of the farther corners of the Library, large old tomb in hand as he reads slowly and continuously writes notes with his free hand. He’s no Stone and translating archaic Latin takes him longer then he wants it too. 

How anyone voluntarily learned a dead language is beyond him.

It’s on his fourth day of translating that he’s suddenly interrupted by a familiar concerned face.

“Mr. Jones?”

Jenkins warm voice pulls him out of the book and Ezekiel turns to face the caretaker in surprise. The thief immediately looks for, but sadly doesn’t see any coffee in the mans hands, and he takes a spare second to mourn the empty carafe at his side before pasting a happy smile on his face regardless. 

One must pretend after all. 

Everything is alright now.

“Ah, Jenkins, what’s up mate?” Ezekiel smiles, as warmly as he can, eyes moving from the empty hands to do a cursory glance over the immortal himself; checking for wounds and blood before he can stop himself. The Australian finds himself doing it every time the other man walks into a room, and he knows despite his efforts Jenkins has noticed.

The Caretaker doesn’t speak right away. Opening and closing his mouth a few times before finally just pressing his fingertips to his lips in thought. It’s an expression he’s seen a thousand times and once a upon a time, never thought he’d miss. But then he had been thrown into a time where he would never see that thoughtful face again and Ezekiel knows now just how for any of them would go for the man named Jenkins.

Brown eyes narrow and Ezekiel finally closes the book, picking it up as he stands, sliding it back onto the bookshelf behind the table he had sitting at before turning to face the immortal fully. 

He wonders if one of them will finally ask. 

Minutes pass and Ezekiel has his answer. He’s never known Jenkins to shy away from the hard questions and sometimes even worse accusations, so Ezekiel is both impressed and annoyed. With a shake of his head and a sigh the thief steps past his old friend clapping a hand to the Caretakers shoulder, brushing by Jacob who had been standing out of sight at the end of the last bookshelf clutching a stack of books like a lifeline.

Jacob watches him go, the sense of unease that has been settling over him in regard to the young thief flaring anew at the way Ezekiel doesn’t even acknowledge him as he disappears up the steps. The historian waits until Ezekiel is fully out of sight before moving to stand next to Jenkins who has pulled out the book the Australian had been reading.

“What is it?” Jacob whispers, voice barely scraping out of his throat as he looks at the leather bound tomb. There’s no title on the front but the lines on Jenkins face are putting him more and more on edge. His own instincts that had been worried about his friend, have now tripled.

“Has Mr. Jones said anything to you?”

Jacobs blue eyes widen, “About what?”

“Anything?” Jenkins frowns, looking at the Southerner. “When was the last time he spoke with you?”

“Just las-“ Jacob stops in the middle of his answer and thinks…when was the last time Ezekiel spoke to him. Just this morning...wasn’t it? When Jacob came into the kitchen to get coffee...or last night when they were studying runes together.... No, that was Casandra…. When they got back from the casino....but even that makes Jacob frown. That had been Ezekiel talking to the space in front of them. Not to them.

The immortal nods as if Jacob’s silence is answer enough. “I need to speak with Colonel Baird and Mr. Carsen.”

Before the historian can stop him, Jenkins is heading off in the same direction as Ezekiel, a look of concern that had passed deep eons ago, marrs his features and leaves the Historian alone with his thoughts.

Five. 

Ten. 

Twenty minutes later finally brings Jacob to a few days after the tethering ceremony several weeks ago. He had asked Ezekiel if he was okay, having noticed the dark circles under the thief’s eyes. Ezekiel had looked at him then, before he quietly replied with a fine and slinking away through the front door. Jacob had made no move to stop him.

That was the last time... over two weeks... how the hell had he let this happen? Jacob scrubs a hand over his face. He needs to talk with Cassandra...and then he’s going to find their thief. Jacob’s not a hundred percent sure what he’s done to make Ezekiel avoid him, but at least he’s been talking to the others.... right?


End file.
